What is the motivation behind the plan? To keep plastic bags out of the bay. About 1 million of the controversial pouches find their way into the bay every year, the San Jose Mercury reports.

Since San Francisco took the nation's first stand against plastic bags in 2007, other cities across the country and the Bay Area have looked into a ban. But Berkeley's approach is considered unique and a preemptive strike at potential lawsuits that have plagued cities' bans.

By charging for paper bags, Berkeley may be able to argue it is not simply shifting the fight from protecting waters to preserving trees, but instead it is pushing shoppers to bring their own cloth bags from home.